Adult Educators inspired and encouraged by Northern Symposium

Whitehorse - Adult Educators and literacy practitioners from across Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon departed the first ever Northern Adult Basic Education (NABE) Symposium today feeling inspired, encouraged, and reflecting on what they heard.

"Many of us work alone, or in small groups within our communities, helping our adult learners achieve success, so it has been tremendously empowering to bring educators together to share what's working, the challenges we face, and discuss the way forward in adult basic education," said Gabriel Ellis, Adult Basic Education (ABE) Coordinator at Yukon College.

“It has been exciting to see all of the innovative approaches that are happening across the North to deliver relevant programming and ensure the success of our students,” said Rosemary Gill, Program Head, Dehcho Region, Aurora College, who is based in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. “We would not have had the opportunity to meet like this and forge stronger partnerships between the three territorial colleges without the federal government funding we have received for NABE and this symposium.”

“The sharing of what we are doing in each territory reaffirms that we are dealing with students who need to utilize elders and local community resources to succeed. That who they are and where they come from should be the learning alongside western educational practices,” said Saa Pitsiulak, Adult Educator with Nunavut Arctic College, Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Sessions in the three-day professional development conference included the importance of community and industry partnerships, sharing life-stories to enhance student learning and engagement, the characteristics of good online learning experiences, collaborating with Elders to build curriculum, language renewal in Nunavut, and developing cultural competencies for faculty and students.

Conversations throughout the Symposium have been captured, condensed, and represented in a series of graphics created by visual artist Lisa Edwards from www.getthepicture.ca/.

The first ever Northern Adult Basic Education Symposium (April 29-May 1, 2014), held at Yukon College, brought together 242 adult education practitioners from across the three northern territories to share new and innovative ideas, research and best practices. NABE programs and the Symposium are funded by a $27 million investment by the Government of Canada over five years through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor).